A Dragon's Affection
by sarahsashes
Summary: Selendrile won't tell Alys anything but he may be willing to let her help when other dragons want their revenge.
1. Chapter 1

Unsafe

The lake was pristine, like a mirror reflecting the moon perfectly. Looking at it reminded her of when she was a child, happy and care-free. That was when her father was still alive. Now she was depending on an emotionless dragon-boy to keep her alive. But what else could be done? Selendrile wasn't that bad anyway. Living with him for these past months had brought them somewhat closer and she was getting used to his quiet, secretive ways.

At that moment she looked up and there he was, soaring above the lake. She could just make out his golden scales reflecting the light of the moon. He circled like a bird of prey and landed a few feet away from her. She stood and went to him.

"Well, did they give up?" she asked the purple-eyed dragon.

He just looked at her and drank from the lake, ignoring her as he usually did.

When he had drunk his fill and the shore line seemed to have gone down, he changed into his human form. Alys looked away from his nakedness, blushing and sighed because she should be used to it by now. She waited until she heard him rustle around in the sack that contained some peasants' clothing and a few minutes later looked up to see him fully dressed and staring at her. She blushed again and tried her best to stare back but knew it was useless.

"We don't have to worry about them anymore" was all he said.

"Okay, so where do we go now?"

He didn't answer. He just walked towards the woods without looking to see if she had followed him. Of course she scrambled up and jogged over to catch up with him. But before she did he said "I have to leave you Alys." That stopped her dead in her tracks. "What? What do you mean you have to leave me?" He stopped, a few paces ahead and turned to look at her. "It's not safe for us to travel together anymore."

"What? I mean why isn't it safe? Did something happen that you haven't told me?" _This could be very likely since you never tell me anything. _She thought to herself.

"Your human mind couldn't possibly understand. But it's not safe because of the other dragons." He replied.

She was stunned, but not for long. "What other dragons? You're just going to leave me here in the middle of nowhere? That's not exactly safe either!" She all but screamed back at him. She felt like crying but knew she couldn't, not in front of him. He'd seen her cry too many times already and she was sure that after what she had been through she would be able to control her emotions better, especially after living with an emotionless dragon for months.

"I'm not going to leave you here Alys. I'm going to take you somewhere where you'll be safe." He said with the tiniest flicker of some emotion she could not place, if she had even seen it at all.

"Where then?"

Then he looked at her with a smirk and said "You'll see when we get there." At that he started walking into the forest again and Alys was left jogging to keep up with his long strides.

* * *

"This is safe?" She said in a sarcastic, disbelieving tone. They were in a small village next to the ocean. It was warm here and she liked that but didn't see how it was safer here than anywhere else.

"This place should be safe enough as long as you don't draw attention to yourself." Selendrile replied, not looking at her.

"Tell me why you have to leave me here? What's so frightening about the other dragons?"

He looked at her then, a half-startled, half-angry expression on his face. "I'm not frightened of the others. It's just easier if you were away from me."

"How is it easier? And what do they want from you anyway?"

"They believe that I have wronged them and now want revenge. You know all about revenge and to what lengths someone will go for it." He said smiling at first, then his face turning serious.

"Yes, I do." She said gravely then went on with her torrent of questions. "Can't I help you somehow, like you helped me? I don't want to stay here, what would I do? I don't belong here with normal people." She said, almost pleading.

He looked at her thoughtfully, measuring if she could be of some help to him without getting in the way. Finally he said, "I think there may be something you can do. For now though, we will check into the inn and you can eat."

"Yes and rest my fragile human body." She said sarcastically, yet feeling as if she had won some small argument. They walked into the town next to the ocean and checked into the 'Traveler's Tavern'. A tall, skinny man greeted them when they entered. He had a sallow face and receding hair that looked like brown fluff on the top of his head. He was in an irritable mood and immediately took their money and handed them off to a young girl around Alys's age, most likely his daughter. She took one look at Selendrile and blushed deeply. She managed to say, "My names' Anna. I'll show you to your room."

"Nice night isn't it?" She said with a slight accent. She could barely walk up the stairs because she kept turning her head back to look at Selendrile. He gave her a marvelous smile and said "Beautiful" which sent her into a fit of giggles. Alys rolled her eyes and made a face that Selendrile noticed. He gave her a pretentious smile. At this the girl giggled even more and when she thought Selendrile wasn't paying attention she gave Alys such a livid stare that Alys thought she had been possessed by the devil himself.

"Well here you are. There's some left over stew for dinner if you haven't eaten yet." Anna said, looking directly at Selendrile when she spoke.

"Thank you, my wife is starving from our journey." He said startling Anna and Alys both.

"Oh, you two are married?" Anna asked in a disbelieving tone. As if someone as handsome as Selendrile could be interested in someone as plain and awkward as Alys believed herself to be.

Before Alys could recover from the first shock Selendrile said with a huge grin, "newlyweds." And shut the door on Anna's baffled expression.

Alys finally finding her voice said "Newlyweds? Why the change in story? The brother-sister disguise worked in all the other towns we've been in."

"It was getting a little boring and the look on your face will be enough to keep me amused for a long time." He said with a grin.

"Humph." Was her only response while she crossed her arms and turned away from him to look at their room. It was small, but clean. A lone window was at the far end of the room that overlooked the beautiful moon-lit ocean. "Wow. What a lovely view. I've never seen the ocean before." She said in awe.

"I know. That's one of the reasons we came here. It is one of several places that are safe for now and I assumed you lived in that little village your whole life. Everyone should see the ocean at least once." He said in a very un-Selendrile like tone. But by the time she turned to look at him he was back to his usual stony disposition.

"Thank you." She said in wonderment. He didn't reply, only opened the door and started down the stairs, not waiting to see if she would follow.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Alys woke to find herself snuggled up to Selendrile. She went very still, wondering if he was awake. When she slid away from him and sat up she saw that he was looking at her intently. She blushed and averted her eyes. She mumbled "Sorry." But he said nothing in return. This wasn't the first time she found herself curled around him when she woke up. It was happening more frequently and she had tried to tell herself it was for his warmth but that excuse would not work today. It was a perfect warm day with a warm salty breeze coming in the window. Selendrile must have left it open after climbing back inside after leaving to turn into his dragon form before the sun rose.

"What time is it?" She asked him groggily.

"Almost noon."

"Noon! Why did you let me sleep so late? I've missed half the day"

"Your body needs rest." He said without any expression.

"Like you care what my body needs." She mumbled grumpily. Mornings weren't her favorite time of day.

"Oh but I do care very much what your body needs." He said with a smirk. She should know better than to set him up like that. But at least she got some kind of emotion out of him that way. He loved to see her flush and squirm under his gaze. She'd been getting better at dodging any of these comments however, but not today.

She watched as he sat up with the grace only a dragon could possess, turning to look at her for a second with his blank face and then going out the door to do whatever it was he did for most of the day. She rose and went downstairs to get some breakfast.

"How was your night?" asked Anna with a sour expression as she served Alys some milk and bread.

"Fine" was all Alys could manage to say while blushing a very deep red because she knew exactly how Anna had _thought_ last night was.

"You two were awfully quiet for newlyweds, the things I've heard…" she let the sentence go unfinished and let Alys make the assumption that the things she'd heard have been very interesting indeed.

"Oh well… um… we were awfully tired from our journey last night." And then added quickly "and now that I know you can hear what we do in our room I doubt Selendrile or I will be very comfortable doing anything of that nature." So as to not make her suspicious because there would definitely _not_ be any of those kinds of noises coming from their room.

"Oh don't worry about me or what I hear. I am very discreet." She replied with a slight leer to make Alys think that absolutely nothing Anna hears is kept a secret.

Later in the evening Selendrile came back to their room. He sat on the bed across from where she was sitting in the chair next to the window trying to mend her dress hem with very little luck.

"I want you to meet someone" he said suddenly.

"Really, who?" This was very odd behavior for Selendrile since he has never said anything about himself and has especially not mentioned anyone that he knew that she thought she could ever actually meet. Unless this someone would be…

"Is it another dragon?" she asked eagerly, startled by her own conclusions.

"Yes it is another dragon. Her name is Tifara. She lives in the ocean."

"Oh. So that's really why we came here isn't it? Not because I've never seen the ocean but because she's here." Alys couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy towards the female-dragon who she's never even met, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

He cocked his head at her the way he would do if he was trying to think if he should tell Alys the truth or not say anything at all. Or maybe he was trying to figure out what she even meant.

He decided not to respond at all. He just started walking through the door without looking back, as usual, to see if she had followed. _One day I'm going to stand right where I am until you turn to see if I'm coming. _She thought to herself while following Selendrile down the stairs and towards the rocky beach.

By the time they got there it was almost time for the sun to set. Before she knew what was going on, Selendrile was shedding his clothes, tossing them to her, and changing into his dragon form. Alys quickly looked around to make sure no one was around but of course that was silly since Selendrile wouldn't turn into his dragon form while any other humans were able to see him. _Or would he?_ She never really knew what Selendrile might do but she would hope that he wouldn't change in front of other humans. _That would draw way too much attention._

Then suddenly, in the last rays of the setting sun, there were huge emerald eyes looking right at her from a short distance away. She almost jumped out of her skin and ran. But before she could do anything but gasp the eyes rose out of the water and with them came a beautiful, slim, bluish-green dragon. The setting sun also gave her a tint of pink to her dripping, shimmering scales.

The water-dragon stared down at Alys with a sort of humorous look in her emerald eyes. This seemed to go on for hours until finally the dragon turned to look at Selendrile and dipped her head in way of greeting. Selendrile did the same and then, after the sun had fully set behind the ocean, he changed back into his human form. The female dragon did the same.

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	3. Chapter 3

"Hello Alys. It's so nice to meet you!" The dragon-girl said in a joyous tone.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you too." Alys replied in near-amazement. The only dragon she had ever met was Selendrile and Tifara was very different.

"Selendrile, how have you been? We haven't seen each other in a long time."

"I've been…" he looked at Alys and then back to Tifara "well." He said in his nonchalant tone. "We should go back to the inn. We have a lot to discuss."

Back at the inn they settled in their room to talk. Not really knowing what was going on, Alys was excited to finally get to know more about Selendrile.

"So Alys, do you know what this is about?" asked Tifara with a sweet smile.

"Not at all but I'm hoping to find out." At that she turned and looked at Selendrile and when she did she saw him smile his charming dragon-smile. _Never a good sign._

"The only thing you need to know is how you're going to help." He said to Alys. At that Tifara turned and looked at him, somewhat sharply. Alys got the feeling that they both knew something she didn't.

"Well you should tell her what she's getting herself into at least." Tifara said to Selendrile and Alys silently thanked the dragon-girl.

Selendrile sighed and then said "You need to know that you're in danger if you continue to travel with me. If you want me to take you somewhere that you will be safe I will." A slight emotion flashed across his serious face as he said this. _Does he want me to leave? _

She wanted to stay with Selendrile and every time she even thought about settling down somewhere without him she flashed back to when they both thought he was going to die, shackled in iron and unable to turn into his dragon form. She shivered at the memory of his pleading eyes, wishing for her to stay so he wouldn't die alone but unable to say the words.

She looked in his eyes and said "You helped me when no one else would and now I want to help you in return. I'll stay." He looked away from her and she didn't know if it was because of anger or perhaps relief? She hoped it was the latter. Even though there were those moments of envy when she saw the people in the villages they passed through, living their happy, normal, dragon-free lives, she couldn't picture herself living without Selendrile. He had saved her and he was the only one she could depend on, her only friend.

"It's settled then." Tifara interrupted Alys' reverie with her cheerful disposition. Selendrile and Alys both came back to the conversation and then they started to plan.

"I think we should round up the others, this is something that hasn't happened in years." Tifara said to Selendrile and then directed herself to Alys "dragons usually don't feud because there are so few of us." Alys nodded and said "Okay, but what are you feuding over?"

"I'm not feuding with anyone. It's them who want me." Selendrile replied with a sour expression.

"Yes, but what for?" Alys eagerly asked hoping to get some answers. When Selendrile didn't reply Tifara said "I would also like to know the whole story if you don't mind." Alys was beginning to like Tifara more and more.

Selendrile took a deep breath, glared at Tifara then looked at Alys and said "A dragon couple believes that I am the one responsible for the death of their hatchling."

"Oh. Why do they think that?" Alys said while Tifara looked on silently.

With an annoyed look he said "They think I lured some villagers to their lair where their baby was while they were out hunting. The villagers killed it." He said with hints of remorse and anger in his voice.

"You are speaking of Keagan and Nuala then?" Tifara asked Selendrile. He replied with a nod. "It was horrible what happened to them. It broke their hearts. But why do they think it was you who lured the villagers?"

"I suppose because I was the only other dragon in the vicinity that they knew of. Possibly they just want someone, anyone to blame." Alys knew what he meant, she had blamed the villagers at Saint Toby's and Inquisitor Atherton for her father's death. Even though he had been sick for so long but she had sworn he was getting better until they accused her of being a witch.

They were quiet for a few moments then Tifara said, "So now they want revenge on you. And I think I know how they might try to come by it." She said with a certain, knowing look in Alys' direction. Selendrile shot his head up to look at Alys with such a bewildered expression she could tell he was just realizing what Tifara meant.

They were coming for her.


	4. Chapter 4

"Me? Why? What did I ever do to them?" Alys questioned, looking from Selendrile's slightly perplexed and furious expression to Tifara's clam one.

"They want you…" Tifara started to say, then looked at Selendrile and when he didn't say anything she continued "because you are the only thing that Selendrile possesses that can enable them to hurt him."

"I thought they wanted to kill me. Now I know they want me to suffer like they have suffered." Selendrile finally said, not to anyone in particular.

This confused Alys greatly because didn't Selendrile have a cave full of his horde of lavish belongings from everywhere around the world? Wouldn't stealing his riches hurt him more than hurting some human he was traveling with?

Alys sighed and said "I don't entirely understand." She said it almost breathlessly so that when no one answered her she looked up and realized they might not have heard her because they were having their own conversation. They were whispering to each other about what to do next.

"Hey!" Alys yelled and they both looked up to watch her with their beautiful dragon eyes; one pair amethyst, the other emerald.

She sighed again and said "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to find the other dragons and then we will all discuss what is to be done about Keagan and Nuala." Selendrile said.

"Where do we find these other dragons?"

At that Selendrile gave her a sharp look and said "_We_ aren't going anywhere, not yet anyway. Tifara is going to look for them."

"Yes but I doubt I can find everyone without your help, not in the short amount of time we have." Tifara replied.

"I need to stay and protect Alys."

"She can go with you. She will most likely be safest while you are on the move anyway."

Selendrile had a hard look on his face, like he was trying to figure something out but didn't want to say it. "You're right" he finally said. This statement surprised Alys. Never has she heard a man say to a woman "you're right" it just wasn't done. Dragon males must have a great deal of respect for dragon females it definitely wasn't that way with humans. "We'll look for Varick and Ninon while you find Lonna and Kale."

"It's settled then. Alys it has been very nice meeting you, I wish it was under better circumstances. I'll see you in about two weeks." She turned to Selendrile, "and you know the place, Selendrile." And with a last nod to him and a wave and lovely smile for Alys she was gone.

"Do you want to go back?" Selendrile asked Alys. She was looking out at the ocean, enjoying the sand between her toes. He came up behind her so quietly she jumped when he spoke.

She turned to look at him. His face was serious while studying hers. "Back where?" but she knew the answer. Those were the same words he had asked her so many months ago after he had saved her from being burned at the stake.

He looked at her intently, studying her face but gave no response.

She sighed and looked back over the water, "No I don't want to go back. I don't belong there."

"Where do you belong then?" he asked, still searching her face for something, she couldn't quite tell what. She was beginning to blush because of how closely he was examining her.

She looked back at him and then quickly down at her sand-covered toes, "I belong with you. Wherever you go, I'll go and whatever you do, I'll do it with you." She glanced up to see his expression, if he had one. And surprisingly he did. He looked sad.

Her face turned red and she hurriedly looked down again.

"Do you remember that night we first met?" she asked.

"Who could forget—a girl that had been staked out for me to eat was throwing rocks and yelling at me—it isn't an everyday occurrence." He said with a smirk.

"You told me only gold-colored dragons can change shape."

He paused then said "I lied, like I told you I do." His expression turning serious he said, "Why are you bringing that up?"

"What else have you lied about? I mean is there anything I should know that would be helpful, like iron binding you, for example." She said turning her face up to his and meeting his gaze.

He looked at her and turned his head slightly to the side, like he usually did in his dragon form, calculating. "There is nothing more you need to know right now."

Alys sighed, "When will I need to know it? When you're about to die and only have seconds left to live? And when I don't know if I'll be able to save you?" she almost yelled at him, a lump in her throat and tears stinging her eyes like the memories that stung every time she thought of them; Selendrile sitting against the stake that was meant for her, pleading with his eyes that she stay with him so he doesn't have to die alone.

He looked at her curiously, and then said, "I thought you didn't cry Alys."

At that she backed away from, a shocked, hurt look on her face, she wanted to say "I lied too" but she didn't, she couldn't say anything. She turned to get away from him, she needed to be alone.

The next thing she knew he had grabbed her arm and was turning her to face him again. She tried to tug free of his grasp but it was useless and she was aware, more than ever, of his much superior strength. She was now facing him, but stubbornly refused to look at him so he put his hand under her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. She had her hands balled into little fists from the effort not to cry when he said, "Alys."

She took a deep breath, defiantly met his eyes and snapped "What?" her voice dripping with loathing and again tried to tug her arm away. And like so many months ago, he let go so that she fell backwards. But instead of falling into hay, this time it was sand that caught her fall. So now she was lying, covered in sand on the dark beach. She opened her eyes to see the stars but didn't bother getting up. She turned her head to see him and realized he was watching her. His expression was something she could not describe but had seen it often on his face.

"Leave me here if you don't want me to go with you." She said, turning her attention back to the stars.

"Is that what you want?"

She shrugged but didn't give a response. _See how you like it when your questions aren't answered._

But all he did was sit down next to her in the sand. They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours until finally, Alys drifted to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Alys awoke to the sound of seagulls. When she opened her eyes she saw it was a beautiful, sunny day. Looking around she saw that Selendrile wasn't there. This wasn't unusual but after remembering all of the things she said last night a feeling of panic gripped her. She sighed, _he'll be back_, she thought to herself. _He always comes back._ But there was still the doubt that one day he wouldn't and she dreaded that more than anything, even more than being hunted down by two vengeful dragons.

After putting on a peasant dress she had gotten from Selendrile one night when she had become soaked from traveling in the rain, she went downstairs to have some breakfast. Anna was there with a mocking smile as she served Alys the glop that was supposed to be food. The innkeeper glared at her as if she had stolen it from right under his nose.

Thankfully Anna was called away before she could do any taunting. The look of disappointment on her face made Alys hesitant to stick around where Anna could find her later. So she ate the edible parts of her meal and left in a hurry so she wouldn't have to hear any of Anna's 'newlywed stories'. She went to walk along the beach and wait for Selendrile to return.

It was past sun set and still no Selendrile. Alys was worried but knew that Selendrile could take care of himself and he had his mysterious reasons for leaving her.

So she sat, looking out the window, watching the sky darken until the only glimpses of the ocean she could see were the reflections of the lit torches stuck into the sand. Suddenly the door opened and she quickly stood up to face him.

"Where have you been?" she asked, trying to keep her voice casual while crossing her arms across her chest.

He gave her an innocent smile and said "Worried about me Alys?"

"No I was just wondering what you were doing all day while we could be out looking for your dragon friends."

"I _was_ looking for my dragon friends."

"Oh. Well, where are they then?" She asked slightly disappointed because she thought she was going to be included in the journey to find them.

"I'm not positive but I think they're to the west of us."

"How do you know?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, indicating that he wasn't going to tell her and sat on the bed. She sighed and sat back on the chair. "So what now? Are we going to find them? When do we leave?"

"Yes and we're leaving right now."

"Good. I was about to never leave this room again."

"Oh really?" He said with a grin. "That can be arranged." His eyes were suggestive.

Alys blushed visibly, "That is _not_ what I meant. I was referring to that girl Anna. Every time I leave the room she finds me and teases me about…" taking a second to find the right words she finished "about us being _newlyweds." _

"Would that be such an unbelievable thing? Or is it like someone falling in love with me looking foolish?" He said seriously.

She just gaped at him, not expecting this reaction at all. She barely remembered that conversation when they had talked about their plans for Gower, Una and Etta. It was right before Atherton showed up and ruined everything. He had asked her something about it looking foolish to the villagers of Saint Toby's if someone fell in love with him. And she had explained it would look foolish for Una, who had a daughter Selendrile's age, or the age he seemed to be. "That's not what I meant" she blushed again "it's the things she talks about, private things that should only be kept between the people who do them." She quickly explained and looked away from him, embarrassed.

"I see." He said with no emotion on his beautiful face. She looked into his amethyst eyes and knew she could get lost in them forever.

"Are you ready?" he asked her, not noticing or not caring that she was staring at him.

She looked around the room, shaking her head to clear it. She got up from the chair, looked out of the window one last time and picked up the bag of her and Selendriles' meager belongings. " Ready when you are."

As they walked along the dark path in the direction Selendrile had indicated would lead them to the dragons, Varick and Ninon, Alys couldn't help but be glad to leave the beautiful beach. She hoped she would never have to see Anna or her surly father again.

"How long will it take us to get there?" she asked Selendrile.

"A few days, possibly more."

"Do you know Varick and Ninon well?"

He took a few minutes to answer and Alys couldn't see his expression because there was no moon tonight.

"In a way I do. Ninon is part of my family. I believe humans would call her my cousin. But dragons are solitary creatures. Once we are able to survive on our own we leave our parents and live alone."

"How many dragons are there?"

He answered almost immediately and when he spoke she could tell he was smiling. "Hundreds."

"Are you lying?"

"Perhaps."

She rolled her eyes and they continued to walk for another hour. The silence was peaceful but Alys had too many questions for her to be able to enjoy it.

"If dragons are solitary creatures why do Varick and Ninon travel together?"

"They are mates."

"Are Lonna and Kale mates too?"

"No, they are siblings. There aren't many couples anymore."

This made her curious. "Why not?"

He took a deep breath and said, "Most dragons are related which makes them look elsewhere for a mate and that can make things…" he paused, looking for the right word "difficult."

It took her a minute to process. What did he mean 'look elsewhere' where else did one look for a dragon mate?

To her disappointment he didn't elaborate and before she could ask another question he said "We'll rest here for a while." Alys looked around to where Selendrile was headed and saw a farmhouse, apparently abandoned. She didn't want to ask him how it was that they always seemed to come across abandoned farmhouses. She knew it was probably because of a certain golden dragon scaring away the people or possibly eating them.

This farmhouse was similar to all the other houses they've stayed in since they began traveling together; plain and small with broken and scattered furniture, as if the owners had left in a hurry. It was, however, big enough for Selendrile to change.

Once they were in the house Alys asked "Where else do dragons find mates?" She had a feeling she already knew the answer and wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

He looked at her and she was momentarily distracted by his purple eyes when he said "Humans."

She had known the answer already but was still taken aback but not for long. "How is that possible?"

He quirked his eyebrow and said "A dragon meets a human and they become affectionate towards one another and fall in love. Isn't that how humans find mates?"

"I know how that happens. She said tiredly. "I mean how does a human become a dragon? Or do the dragons just…" she blushed when she couldn't think of a better word "_mate_ with the human and then change back into a dragon?"

His whole body was shaking looking at her uncomfortable expression "fey are magic and love is the most powerful type of magic there is." His eyes grew serious while he looked at her and she was once again swept up into those eyes and his perfect face and long pale-gold mane. She blushed again as she remembered the soft texture of it when she braided it. He smiled as if he knew what she was thinking.

After what felt was an awkward minute for Alys it became even more awkward when he started to remove his shirt and it took her a horrified second to realize he was changing into a dragon. She turned around quickly as a wave of relief came over her. She had thought something else entirely because her mind had been thinking about dragons and humans becoming mates. She felt even more relief when she heard the rustling of wings and talons on the hard-packed dirt floor.

She turned to look at the beautiful golden dragon that was curled on the floor like a cat with his tail wrapped around his enormous body. She was still a little terrified of his menacing talons. But not terrified enough. She sat down across from him in the only space left in the tiny house, and said "Why didn't you tell me that humans could become dragons?" He opened one amethyst eye then closed it as if to say 'You never asked, go to sleep'.

"You didn't even tell me there were other dragons." She said accusingly. This time there was no reaction. This made her even more frustrated than she had just been. Thinking of the previous night she added "I want to know what else you haven't told me, I haven't forgotten about last night." Still she got no reaction from the dragon.

"Selendrile! I know you're not sleeping yet! Answer me!"

Then, faster than she had thought possible there he was, in human form, coming at her with a furious expression. He stopped when his face very close to hers and said in a low, threatening voice "I didn't tell you about other dragons because you never asked about the other dragons. NOT that I would have because I don't like to share my species' secrets with humans." She was terrified for a moment but she gathered her courage and said in a defiant tone "I'm not just any human Selendrile. I've traveled with you for months. I barely even talk to other humans. You're the only one I can trust why would I betray you by telling other humans about you or your dragon secrets?"

At that he looked exasperated. "Why do you need to know all of this anyway? You're too curious for your own good Alys."

"I have a right to know! I told you everything about my life and after everything we've been through you still can't confide in me! You're just an emotionless, uncaring animal." She said it and immediately regretted it. He lashed out and grabbed her arm, making her back into the wall. "I told you before Alys, don't become more trouble than your worth."

Her eyes widened and her face turned white. _Would he really kill me?_ She thought desperately trying to tug her arm out of his grasp. He stood there, naked, with her pinned against the wall. He was too frightening for her to even think about that right now.

"You'd kill me." It wasn't a question and he didn't answer but his face took on a slightly confused expression and then he cocked his head, thinking about what to say. Finally he looked into her eyes, the fury gone, and said "I could never hurt you Alys."

"You're hurting me now" she whispered. It was true, in a way, his grasp on her arm was tight but she didn't think it would even bruise. He was scaring her more than he was physically hurting her.

His grasp loosened and then he did the last thing she ever thought he would do. He kissed her.

Alys had never been kissed like this before. True, she had quickly kissed Selendrile when she thought she might never see him again but they had never talked about it and _this_ kiss was _very_ different. She was thoroughly surprised. It was a light kiss but with an underlying urgent need to it. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his lips on hers, moving slowly at first then becoming more heated. She inhaled his grassy scent and didn't want him to stop.


	6. Chapter 6

Selendrile pulled back and she gasped, shocked at what he had done but mostly at how she had reacted. They stared at each other with wide eyes. She almost laughed because she never saw such an expression on his face before. She was equally baffled and didn't know exactly what to say so she said the first thing that came to mind, "Wow."

At that he smiled. He pulled her down onto the floor and they sat facing each other. He pulled his knee up and placed his elbow on it, covering some of his nakedness. After a devastatingly long time Alys said, looking down at her hands in her lap "Why did you do that?"

He thought about it and said "Why did you kiss me?"

"I…" Why had she kissed him? She furrowed her brow trying to remember exactly what she had been thinking. "I thought you were going to die. I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again. Besides that kiss I gave you and the kiss you just gave me are completely different types of kisses."

He nodded but said nothing. She was unsure of what else to say. So they sat there, silent, both thinking about what had just transpired between them.

She felt the exhaustion from all of the traveling they did weighing her down. It must have shown because Selendrile said "Go to sleep Alys."

She nodded and lay on the floor, using the bag as a pillow.

"Good night Selendrile."

He gave her his crooked smile before stepping back to give himself room and changed back into a dragon. He then resumed his cat-like position and Alys repositioned herself to be closer to him, grateful for his warmth and inhaling his scent. She dreamed of amethyst eyes and meadows.

Alys woke up to Selendrile staring at her. This was highly common, but after last night her face reddened and she wondered what he was thinking about. She cleared her throat and as if this had interrupted his reverie he said, "What other types of kisses are there?"

She was stunned. "Well…there are family types of kisses, usually a peck on the cheek to your parents or siblings and then there are…um… friendly types of kisses…" she trailed off not really knowing how to explain about what kind of kiss they had shared last night.

"Friendly kisses like last night?" he asked with his innocently curious face.

She swallowed and said "Sort of, it was a little more than just friendly."

"And what about the kiss you gave me? That was a friendly kiss also?" his face was pure innocence. She started to believe that he knew the answer already and was just bringing it up to make her squirm.

He was succeeding.

"Why do you insist on teasing me?" she yelled at him, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

Again, innocence. But this time he said nothing.

She made a frustrated growling sound that made Selendrile raise his eyebrows at her and she stormed off to find some food. She didn't have to look far because there, on the only piece of furniture that wasn't broken, was a bowl of hot stew. This made her madder and she shot him a glare and snapped "Thank you."

She sat down to eat the stew while trying to ignore his laughter.

When she was done eating they began to walk again. Alys was still fuming over their earlier conversation, but after walking for a hours she couldn't stand the silence anymore. She spoke crossly when she asked "Does Tifara have a mate?"

Selendrile glanced at her and simply said "No."

She waited but when he said nothing more she asked "Why not? She's very nice."

"She doesn't meet many men in the water."

"Doesn't she ever go to shore to try and find one?"

He took a second to answer, thinking how or if to answer the question. "She's what you might call a 'free soul' and she's very young. She's not interested in finding a mate yet."

"How old is she?"

He shrugged, glanced at her and said "Ask her."

Alys rolled her eyes. She should have known he wouldn't tell her. "How old are you?" She tried, knowing he was even less likely to answer that question, but it didn't hurt to try.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows and she automatically knew he wouldn't tell her.

"Why won't you tell me?"

He stopped walking, and said "I'm two hundred and seventeen." With the most emotionless face she'd ever seen, which made her believe he was lying.

Instead of confronting him like she usually did she said "Oh. I thought…" just letting the sentence trail off, knowing he wouldn't be able to leave it unfinished. She replaced it with a different question. "What do the other dragons look like?"

He raised an eyebrow at her as if he knew what she was doing. "They are all different colors." He repeated her words back to her like she knew he would. "I thought…?"

She smiled, feeling very cunning.

"I thought you would be older. Is that why you look like you're only eighteen?"

He smiled and she knew that he knew what she had done but he answered her anyway. "It's hard to explain to a human. I look eighteen because I am not fully grown yet."

She was puzzled but too happy that he had answered her question with what she hoped was the truth that she didn't care.

They continued to walk and when she needed to rest, they found a spot in the woods next to a stream.

Alys turned to allow Selendrile privacy to change to his dragon form. Before she turned back around she heard him roar. She whipped around as fast as she could only to feel more panicked when she saw him breathing fire. To her relief he was aiming at the ground with a very small amount of fire leaving his mouth.

She sat on the ground, unsure if she could stand any longer. She knew Selendrile wouldn't hurt her but the sight of him breathing fire was terrifying.

Suddenly there was another screech in the distance. Alys's head shot up expecting to see Selendrile flying in the sky, but he was standing in front of her. She couldn't see anything but the backs of his tail and knees.

"What was that?" she asked and he only turned his head slightly so she could see one purple eye then he turned back, ready to face whatever was coming. She realized Selendrile was protecting her and she smiled slightly.

Her smile vanished when she heard the swish of wings and the sounds of talons digging into the soft earth.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so sorry about the cliffhangers. After ch.5 I was like 'okay I'm not going to do that again' because it was really mean. Then I'm writing ch.6 and I was like 'this is way too good not to stop here'. So, again I'm sorry. Thank you for being nice and not totally bashing me for it. ;-) Oh and I realized I never did one of these:**

**Disclaimer: I am not Vivian Vande Velde and I do not own Dragon's Bait or any of the characters.**

**Enjoy!**

Selendrile roared so loud Alys had to cover her ears. There was a returning roar from the dragon Alys couldn't see. Then, very unexpectedly, Selendrile changed into his human form. Alys stood up, still behind him, and looked around for the other dragon. All she saw was a young man, around the same age that Selendrile looked. He had long black hair and light blue eyes with the face of an angel carved into stone. Now she truly knew that all dragons were beautiful.

"Selendrile" the dragon said, slightly dipping his head the same way Tifara had.

"Oisin" Selendrile also dipped his head in greeting.

They stood calculating each other. _ I guess all male dragons have a lack of vocabulary._ Alys thought as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Then she realized that there were now _two_ naked men standing in her eyesight. She turned so quickly that it caught both of their attentions and she heard someone, Oisin, laugh lightly.

He smiled and asked Selendrile, "Yours?"

Before Selendrile could answer Alys yelled so that Oisin could hear her, "I'm not a goat. I'm a person. I don't _belong_ to anyone."

"So I see." He replied.

Selendrile only asked, "Why are you here?"

Bringing his attention back to Selendrile, he said. "I'm here to help."

"I thought you were away with the elder dragons."

"They began to bore me. So I left to travel again and met Tifara on the way. She told me of your…problem" he said that last word with a slight smile, as if enjoying the thought of there being a 'problem'.

After a minute of silence Alys said, "Thank you for helping us but can you both please get some clothes on!"

Oisin only raised his eyebrows at Selendrile as if the thought of wearing clothes had never crossed his mind. But Selendrile went to Alys, took the pack off of her shoulder and rummaged through it for clothes for himself and Oisin. Luckily they had just found another pair of peasant breeches from the last farmhouse so there were extra.

When they were dressed Selendrile turned Alys around to face him with his hands on her shoulders and said "Alys this is Oisin"

Oisin smiled and inclined his head like he had done with Selendrile. Alys smiled and did the same. She suddenly felt shy and unsure of what to say.

"So what else did Tifara tell you?" Selendrile asked Oisin, turning his attention away from Alys.

"She said she was on her way to find Lonna and Kale while you went to find Varick and Ninon."

"Yes. We just stopped so that Alys can rest." At this Alys made a face. She didn't like being the one that needed to rest all the time.

Selendrile motioned for her to sit. Both Selendrile and Oisin did the same. They sat in silence for a while just staring into the depths of the fire.

Out of nowhere Alys asked Selendrile, "How am I going to help?"

Selendrile looked at her questioningly, "Help with what?"

"With the dragons, you said you thought of a way I may be of some help, how?"

He took a deep breath. "When you first asked to help I thought we might have been able to use your human scent. Now that's impossible."

"What were you going to use my scent for?"

He shrugged. "A human scent would have been less noticeable than my own or any other dragons'. We may have gotten closer to them."

"And why is that impossible now?"

"Now they want you, a human. Therefore, they are looking for a human scent."

She took a moment to think about that. Now she was useless. She felt like dragon's bait again. At least this time she wasn't tied to a stake. She also had Selendrile on her side, as well as Tifara and hopefully all of the other dragons. There has to be strength in numbers as long as the rest were willing to help.

Oisin raised his eyebrows. "Why do they want her?"

Selendrile scowled, probably from having to talk so much in the past few days. "Keagan and Nuala feel the need to seek their revenge by means of Alys."

Oisin nodded his head in understanding.

Meanwhile, Alys continued with her never-ending stream of questions. "Where are we meeting with Tifara?"

Selendrile sighed. "You'll see when we get there." At his tone she could tell he was done answering her questions.

There was silence until Oisin asked Alys bluntly, "Are you rested yet?"

They had been walking in silence for a few hours. Selendrile seemed no more inclined to talk than usual so Alys turned her attention to Oisin, happy to have an alternative for once.

"Where are you from?" She asked him, hoping he wasn't as anti-social as Selendrile.

Oisin just looked at her with a friendly expression, his light blue eyes full of humor. "The North." Was all he said. _So much for talkative._

"Is it cold there?"

"Most of the time." Again he said it in a friendly, nonchalant tone.

Deciding that she had nothing much to lose except probably her head she said "Will you tell me any dragon secrets?" She said this in such an excited way she reminded herself of the young children in her village when they had asked a grandparent to tell them an extraordinary tale of a valiant knight saving a damsel in distress, most likely from the maiden-eating dragon.

He looked at her with a surprised expression and she thought she might have gone too far. Then he laughed, taking her by surprise. "I'm sorry Alys but I cannot." He said with his smile still in place, and then added, "Perhaps someday I will." At that Selendrile gave him a murderous glare but Oisin seemed not to notice.

Alys sighed happily, content that her answer wasn't a definite 'no'.

She just noticed that the sun was about to set. _Time to change. _

She looked expectantly to Selendrile, to see if he wanted to stop for the night or continue on. He seemed intent on staring ahead while walking. She looked at him puzzled. "Selendrile?"

He acknowledged her by looking at her with a blank expression on his face. "Aren't you going to change?" Immediately he turned to look at the setting sun and started pulling off his shirt. She turned to see Oisin doing the same on her other side and she continued to turn until she was facing the way they had come. After walking a little distance she stopped to wait for the sounds of talons and wings as the now _two_ dragons transformed.

After hearing this very familiar sound she turned to walk back and saw Selendrile, huge and golden, pale hair flying in the light breeze with his cold amethyst eyes watching her as she took in the other dragon. To her amazement, she saw that Oisin was a black dragon. She began to recount everything she had ever heard about dragons. In all the tales she remembered hearing about how the dragons were ruthless, vile creatures. But she also remembered that black dragons in particular were said to be the worst.

However, the one thing that didn't complete the ruthless, evil-dragon depiction was the light blue eyes that were now watching her intently.


	8. Chapter 8

So there she was, staring at two enormous dragons. They both turned and started walking in the direction they were going before. Alys assumed that this meant they were to keep walking through the night. She had hoped that Selendrile would change back into human form once the sun set but that didn't seem to be the decision so she caught up with them.

All of a sudden Oisin stretched out his wings and jumped into the air. Alys watched in awe and quickly turned to see Selendrile flying away as well. She watched him until he was swallowed by the darkness of the night along with Oisin. She was left in the dark, all alone.

Even though she knew Selendrile just wanted to stretch his wings and be in his natural form for a while she still shivered at the thought that he might not come back.

She sighed and said "I'll just keep walking then! Don't worry about me!" Then out of nowhere, she was grabbed from behind by claws and pulled off of her feet so quickly she almost forgot to scream. Almost.

Once the terrifying feeling of being miles above the ground wore off she stopped screaming. She felt the air tearing at her hair and clothes and the moisture of the cool night sky. She started to enjoy herself. She laughed as the ground she could barely see flew by and she pushed back the terrified feeling that came with not knowing if you were going to be dropped at any second.

She started to see the ground more clearly after hours of flying and realized the sun was starting to rise. Then Selendrile swooped down and let go of her so that she fell on a pile of hay. She lay there for a moment trying to figure out which end was up when she heard a bark.

Sitting up Alys saw a big red dog with floppy ears. "Hello there. What are you doing out here?"

The dog whined and lay down in the hay next to Alys. They both fell asleep within minutes.

Alys woke to the sound of the dog growling. She yawned and sat up to see a very annoyed Selendrile .

"Where did you get _that_?" he asked her.

"She was here when you dropped me. I like her." Alys said as she smiled and patted the dog on the head. The dog immediately stopped growling and rolled over for a belly rub. She had never had a dog before. The only dogs she ever saw were the strays in her village and a herding dog on one of the nearby farms. Once she had played with a litter of puppies in her childhood friends' barn.

"Well she doesn't seem to run from me like other animals would. She tried to bite me when I came near you."

Alys laughed. "I think I'll call her Penna."

"Just make sure she doesn't become too much trouble." Alys made a face and glared. Would he eat her? She thought of the dog he had tossed food to while he was waiting for Gower. He met her glare with a smirk and she continued petting Penna.

"Where's Oisin?" she asked, realizing she hadn't seen him yet.

"Hunting." Alys hoped they wouldn't come across any more "abandoned" houses anytime soon.

"I'll go find him since you seem to be missing his company." Selendrile said while getting up and pulling his shirt over his head. Alys turned quickly away and heard him screech as he resumed dragon form. When she turned she was alone again with Penna.

"I was not missing his company." She said to Penna. Penna replied by licking her face. Alys giggled and began to search for food.

She pulled some bread out of the pack and threw pieces to her new companion while she finished the rest. After she finished eating she walked around to see where she was. She was at the edge of a large field with the forest behind the mound of hay she had slept on. She walked into the forest to find a little stream while Penna followed her. They both drank from the water and Alys splashed her face and arms to get rid of some of the built up grime. It was freezing, like all stream water was, but beautiful. She looked up to see a mother deer and her baby watching them cautiously until Penna barked at them. Alys smirked at the silliness of her new dog and was glad that she didn't run after the deer.

"Maybe you'll stick around more than Selendrile does. It would be nice to have someone else to talk to. He's not _that_ bad you know." She made conversation with Penna while they sat next to the stream as the sun set.

When she heard someone walking behind her she thought Selendrile had returned with Oisin. She turned to greet them but froze when she realized that it wasn't them but two complete strangers. Penna growled as Alys backed away, not knowing what to do. Surely it wasn't normal for a young girl to be alone in the dark, even if she did have her dog to protect her.

"Well who's this pretty little girl?" the older man said.

"I don't know. I wonder why she's out here all by herself." The other one replied with a sickening grin on his face.

Alys couldn't really see their faces but by their voices she guessed they were a few years older than Selendrile and Oisin looked and very drunk. Drunk was never good. She scrambled to think of something that would explain why she was here alone and make them leave her alone. "I'm waiting for my father. He should be here very soon." She said in what she hoped was a confident voice. Penna was still growling low and the hair on her back was standing straight up.

They ignored her and asked "You from around here little girl?" Even though she was half scared to death Alys didn't like being called 'little girl' but didn't say anything that might anger them.

"No. Just passing by. My father had business at the seaports."

The two men stepped closer to her and she backed away, not realizing that she was dangerously close to falling into the stream. The man lifted a hand to stroke her cheek and she jumped backwards to get away. She landed on her side in the freezing water, the rounded stones at the bottom bruised her backside. The two men laughed and one jumped down and grabbed her by her forearms, hauling her out of the water and threw her onto the bank. Penna, meanwhile, snarled and stepped to get in front of Alys, between her and the stranger.

Alys was terrified as the man looked down at her. She started to struggle to get on her feet and was failing miserably. _Where's Selendrile when you need him?_ She thought trying to crawl sideways away from the two men.

"Can't you do anything 'bout that mutt?" the second man asked. "We're not gonna hurt you. Call her off."

"N-No. S-She's just p-protecting m-me. L-Leave m-me alone." The two men laughed again. And the first one said "You'd better get out of them wet clothes missy. Don't want ya to catch cold." Alys froze, unable to speak as one man tried to get around Penna. She could tell by their jerky movements that they were starting to get angry. _Selendrile where are you?_

Alys began to get to her feet while Penna snapped at one man and he yelled. Whether he yelled in anger or pain she didn't care, she ran. "P-Penna!" she called over her shoulder but the dog was already running at her side with the men shouting behind her. She could hear their fast footsteps as they tried and stumbled in their drunkenness to catch up to her.

Alys ran like she had when she was trying to save Selendrile's life. She couldn't feel her fingers or feet because they were so frozen and the cold water was still dripping off of her hair and clothes. She knew that the men would catch up to her soon enough but hoped that there was a chance they might stumble and pass out.

She reached the hay that acted as her bed and fell onto the far side, hoping the men couldn't see her in the now black night. Penna was still alert and she hoped the protective dog wouldn't bark at the men as they passed by her.

She covered her mouth with her hands so that they wouldn't hear the sobs and short breaths while she leaned fully into the hay and closed her eyes, wishing she could become invisible. A few moments went by where she heard footsteps all over the field and trees and then everything was quiet. She cautiously opened her eyes and lowered her hands, listening for any sound that the two men were still near. She hoped they had given up.

She cautiously stood up and tried to see around the hill of hay that was her sanctuary. Stepping around the hay as quietly as she could she held her breath while looking around the field, trying to stop her imagination from making human shapes out of trees in the forest.

Then she heard a bark and a horrible noise like someone hitting something very hard. She turned so fast she got dizzy and saw Penna on the ground. Alys stared horrified and too shocked to move as one of the men grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the ground. She screamed and tried to stagger up again but was pushed down by the man's foot.

She tried to crawl away and the man grabbed her arm but let go almost immediately. She looked up, surprised and ready to run and saw Selendrile. He had the man by the neck and Alys realized he was lifting him so that the man's feet were dangling off of the ground. Selendrile's face was pure fury. She had never seen him so angry and knew that the dragon expression wasn't anything any human could possibly make. In fact, Selendrile looked very un-human. Alys heard a crack and gasped as Selendrile dropped the man as if he was a sack of garbage. He turned to Alys and gently pulled her to her feet. She cried into his shoulder, enjoying his smell and the feel of his strong arms as they wrapped around her.

She stood back and gasped "Penna!" And looked around for the dog. She found her next to the hay and Alys hoped she wasn't dead. Kneeling down next to Penna she stroked the dog's red fur and was relieved when Penna wagged her tail. Alys smiled and cried as she hugged the dog.

Just then she heard someone walk up behind her and she jumped as Penna growled for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. But it was only Oisin. He looked at her worriedly. "Are you okay?" She nodded, not trusting her voice.

Selendrile caught his gaze and Oisin nodded and said "It is done." Alys knew that meant Oisin had found the other man and shuddered when she thought of what he might have done to him, sure that he met the same fate as his friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Alys didn't know how she got next to a fire in a small cottage. She could feel Penna sleeping next to her but the room was silent. There wasn't any sign of Selendrile or Oisin. She cringed inwardly as she thought about what had happened the night before and even more at what could have happened.

She thanked God that Selendrile had been there to save her. But she still wished he hadn't killed the man. He was drunk and most likely didn't know what he was doing. It reminded her too well of when Selendrile had killed Atherton.

She felt sad when she thought about Atherton and she was still sorry he was dead. And like she did so many months ago she whispered to God, "He didn't mean it. He was only protecting me."

After a few moments of staring at the ceiling and hoping that Selendrile's soul was safe she heard the door to the cottage open. Selendrile walked in and sat beside her. He just looked at her without saying anything. He was searching her face for something.

"I'm fine" It came out as a whisper and she said again more loudly "I'm fine."

He didn't say anything.

"Thank You." She said quietly.

After a while he said "You're welcome."

There were a few more moments of silence between them and Alys began to squirm, uncomfortable as usual under his piercing gaze. He laughed and her head shot up to look at him. The smile on his face was the opposite of any of the cold smiles he had ever given her before and she liked it. She smiled back and they were caught in a trance of calm happiness even though only hours before there had been only fear and rage.

Only a moment passed with both Alys and Selendrile content to sit staring at each other when the door opened again and Oisin walked in. Alys looked away from Selendrile, blushing deeply.

She looked around trying to find something to say or do when she realized that Penna wasn't growling even though both dragons were within a foot of her. She just meagerly wagged her tail and laid her head on Alys' lap.

Alys smiled at both of the dragon youths, "Well I guess she doesn't mind either of you now."

Selendrile and Oisin didn't seem as pleased as Alys by this news and she continued to pet Penna's head. "Well when do we continue our journey?" she asked when it was clear that the dragon youths weren't going to comment about Penna's new tolerance of them.

"Whenever you're ready." Selendrile replied.

"Oh. Well then I think I'm ready now." Selendrile raised his eyebrows. Oisin hesitated, a very undragon-like thing to do and said "Perhaps we should wait a little while longer."

Alys shrugged and laid her head back down on the floor. She felt extremely tired, physically and emotionally. Penna was warm and comforted her but what really let her drift back to sleep was that she knew Selendrile was watching over her.

Alys woke with a start as her dreams led her to not-so-old memories that she didn't want to remember. It was dark in the room but she saw through the window that the sun was just setting so there was enough light to see by for now. She got up from the now-low burning fire and went outside to find Selendrile and Oisin sitting on opposite sides of a tree. They were seemingly asleep so she crept up and put her face close to Selendriles'.

She stood there, bent over for a few moments when all of a sudden his eyes snapped open and she jumped back. He cocked his head to the side but didn't comment. She wondered if he thought she was going to kiss him. _The thought definitely had crossed my mind._ She thought with a blush and turned her gaze towards Oisin who was also studying her like Selendrile. They both had expressionless faces so she didn't have a clue what they could be thinking, if anything.

When neither of them said anything she crossed her arms and said, "Well don't just sit there and stare at me! We have dragons to meet in less than two weeks' time."

At that both dragon youths raised their eyebrows but still didn't comment. Or move. So Alys walked back into the cottage and gathered their little belongings. She was back outside with Penna in almost no time. Both Selendrile and Oisin were on their feet waiting for her.

Without a word, all three, four including Penna, continued on their journey to meet with Varick and Ninon.

They walked in silence for hours. Finally Alys got tired of it. Sighing she said, "Oisin? Can you tell me more about being a dragon?"

He glanced at her with a bright smile and replied, "What would you like to know?"

Alys noticed that Selendrile gave Oisin an annoyed look but said nothing. "Were there more dragons once? Were they as common as deer? Or were they always a hidden species?"

Oisin chuckled. "We were once even more common than deer. There were once more deer also. But that has all changed. Humans have done what they can to obtain the top of the food chain for themselves and have somewhat succeeded."

Alys thought about this for a while. How glorious it would have been to see dragons everywhere, and frightening. But she couldn't imagine any more deer. There are just way too many of them right now. "If dragons used to be so numerous how did humans see to their declining numbers? I would think it near impossible for a human to kill a dragon." She said, and then added, "Unless they had somehow tricked them into wearing iron of course." Thinking of Selendrile's near-death experience.

Oisin shrugged, "I guess dragons just aren't as cunning as you may believe them to be. Humans have been killing us off for many years. It seems to be easier for them to do so with each new death." He added somberly as an afterthought, "Many dragons are killed while still young, like Keagan and Nuala's youngling. The parents must find a well-hidden place for their young because they are almost defenseless against humans when their parents aren't with them. That may be one of the main reasons why they blame Selendrile. They believe that their location was so well hidden that it could only be found by another dragon and therefore humans had followed that dragon."

He turned to look at Alys with a serious expression on his face. "It is rare for there to even be dragon couples but for there to be offspring for that couple is almost considered a miracle. This fact also adds to Keagan and Nuala's rage. They may never have another youngling and I can't even imagine the rage and disappointment when they found their own murdered."

At this Alys felt awful. She looked to Selendrile who she could tell felt the same way even if it wasn't written plainly on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

After walking for over a week and running out of questions that Oisin would answer Alys was anxious to find the other dragons that she had heard so little about. She was starting to think they didn't exist. One day, while walking in silence she said "Are we any closer to finding them than we were yesterday…or the day before?"

Selendrile sighed but it was Oisin that responded, "Yes, we're close. I can smell them."

"Smell them?" Alys asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

He turned to smirk at her, "Dragon senses remember?"

"Oh. Right." She discretely wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air, smelling only the fresh air and the trees and grass.

Then there was silence once more. She couldn't remember the last time Selendrile had actually spoken. It may have been two mornings ago to ask her if she wanted to rest. Well, not ask but to _tell_ her to rest.

They were now in a heavily wooded area, so crowded with trees Selendrile and Oisin couldn't walk comfortably in their dragon forms.

Suddenly, Selendrile and Oisin stopped walking. Alys stopped midstep and almost lost her balance turning to look to Selendrile to see why he had stopped. His face told her nothing but when she looked to Oisin his growing grin made her feel relief.

"What is it?" she asked, starting to smile despite herself.

To her surprise, it was Selendrile that answered, "Ninon."

Alys spun her head around trying to see where the dragoness was, but to no avail. She looked back at Selendrile and Oisin, who had started to walk again. Selendrile made the briefest of eye contact with her with a quick, uncharacteristic smile. Alys' heart fluttered and she just stared after him but the smile did its job in letting her know that she shouldn't worry and there was no danger.

This also made her think. _Is he smiling because of Ninon? Do they have a history together? _She swallowed the uneasy feeling and started to walk slowly in their wake, her eyes darting everywhere to get a glimpse of the yet-to-be-seen dragon.

_What do I know about her? Is she beautiful? Of course she is they all are… stupid dragons. It isn't enough that they are powerful and can change to whatever form suits them they have to be beautiful and graceful as well._

Alys realized she was pouting. She sighed and looked up from the ground to see Selendrile studying her, eyebrows raised. She met his gaze for only a few seconds and when he stopped walking so did she. His face looked grave as he started to say "Alys…" and then there was Oisin running back towards them. Alys looked up as he stopped in front of her and Selendrile.

"I know where she is." He said, looking between Alys and Selendrile. Alys glanced at Selendrile but he was intent on moving forward. She shrugged and continued with them for some time.

Oisin took the lead until they reached the bottom of a mountain. Oisin and Selendrile changed out of their clothes as Alys turned her back to them. When she heard the sounds of scales and talons she lifted her arms to be picked up.

The grasp around her middle was firm and the feeling of weightlessness still left her slightly nauseous but the view was beautiful. She could see the tops of the trees for miles and miles. It was all over in only a few moments when she was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground of a ledge about half way up the mountainside.

She quickly looked around to see a cave to her right. With only a half-thought to poor Penna, who looked as if she was going to be sick, she watched as both Selendrile and Oisin landed and strode into the cave entrance. Meanwhile, she sat on the ground staring after them as they disappeared into the darkness. _One day, you just wait. _She thought whilst giving Selendrile's fading form a witch-worthy look.

Sighing, she stood back up and cautiously walked towards the cave. She turned when she realized that Penna wasn't following her. When she turned and scanned the landscape there was no sign of her. "Penna! Pennaaa!"

It wasn't Penna but Oisin that came to her. "She'll be fine. I think two dragons is her limit." He said with a wink and held out his hand for Alys to take.

With a last glance around she smiled and took Oisin's hand to be led into the dark cave. He led her into the cave until she saw a small fire in the middle of an inner, smaller cave. As soon as she saw Selendrile standing with another girl she dropped Oisin's hand.

Selendrile made no notice that he had even seen that they were holding hands. Oisin just smirked and said "I found her. Alys this is Ninon."

Ninon was a very petite girl that looked about Alys' age. She had hair so dark it had a purple sheen when the light from the fire hit it just right and big, piercing sapphire eyes. Her dark hair and eyes contrasted beautifully with her porcelain skin.

She gave Alys a timid smile, for a dragon-girl anyway.

"Hi" Alys said very boldly. Ninon just smiled wider and bobbed her head in way of greeting. She seemed to be reading the emotions in the room and looked from Alys to Selendrile and back to Alys then to Oisin. At any gathering of human beings this might have seemed awkward and even rude but it was a comfortable silence that the dragons had with each other.

Suddenly Ninon smiled hugely, turned and reached her hand out to the darkness behind her. When she turned back to them the man that was attached to her hand was massively intimidating. But the look on Ninon's face and the love in her eyes was so breathtaking that Alys just stood there staring, almost forgetting not to let her jaw drop in awe of what they had between them. She didn't have to be dragon to tell that they had the most intense form of love there was. Alys had some odd feeling in her stomach as she watched them and turned in time to see Selendrile's eyes slip away from her face.

Oisin interrupted the complete silence. "And this is Varick, unquestionably Ninon's mate."

Varick smiled brightly and said "Pleased to meet you Alys."

"Pleased to meet you as well." Alys replied cheerily. She was filled with a total sense of well-being. Now that she saw what love really is she was filled with a warm feeling. Although Ninon and Varick were obviously completely in love they were very different in appearance. Varick was big and muscular and very loud and rambunctious when speaking to Selendrile and Oisin about their journey. Yet there was a calm about him and something else that Alys couldn't quite figure out. He seemed a little… off, as a dragon anyway.

_It's the eyes. _

Although just as beautiful as the other three dragon's eyes his were beautiful in a different way. The color was a very normal gray but enhanced so that no ordinary eyes could possibly match his.

Before she realized what she was doing she said. "How odd your eyes are." She gasped and stuttered "I'm sorry I didn't mean…" but she was cut off by all four dragons laughing. She stared at all of them in scared wonder. Also noticing that was the first time she had heard Ninon make a sound.

When the dragons finally calmed enough to speak Varick said "It's okay Alys." He turned to Ninon and smiled. "My eyes are odd because I used to be human."


End file.
